You Save Me, Jethro
by iwannagibbs
Summary: Jethro and Kate have a heart to heart. No plot just KIBBS.


Author's Note: Just a little KIBBS because as much as I love the show now, I really like the idea of Kate and Gibbs together

Author's Note: Just a little KIBBS because as much as I love the show now, I really like the idea of Kate and Gibbs together. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of NCIS except all 5 seasons on DVD.

You Save Me, Jethro

Kate woke up and instinctively reached out expecting to find Jethro next to her. When she realized he wasn't there, Kate glanced at the clock and seeing it was 1:25 am she sighed and sat up to get out of bed. She knew Jethro had come home hours ago because he had come in and kissed her goodnight before changing his clothes and going down to the basement to work on his boat. That by itself was not unusual but normally Jethro didn't stay downstairs for this long when Kate was already in bed. She sat on the side of the bed and thought about Jethro's very difficult behavior the past few days. Kate had gone to bed tonight knowing she and Jethro were going to have a serious talk about that the next day. She was worried about him because the team had been working almost non-stop for the past month and all their cases had been complicated and traumatic. Most troubling had been the gruesome rape and murder of a young Marine wife while her nine year old daughter hid in a closet. They had all been stunned by the brutality of the crime but Jethro seemed to have been particularly shaken when Kate found the child still hiding hours after her mother had been killed. During that investigation and the next one, Jethro had become distant and not only very hard to work with but more importantly to Kate, very hard to live with.

She didn't know what was going on in Jethro's head but she knew they would be able to talk about it. That certainly had not always been the case but Kate and Jethro's relationship was strong and a big reason for that had been Jethro's willingness to open up to Kate and talk to her about what he was feeling and thinking. A lot of hard work by both of them had gone into building their relationship and Kate had no doubt that whatever was bothering Jethro they could deal with it.

Right now though she just wanted him to come to bed so she pulled on some sweats and a shirt and headed for the basement. She found Jethro, not working on the boat but lying on the platform under the frame. His head rested on a rolled up blanket. He held a half full mug of bourbon in one hand while the other hand secured the bottle. Kate could tell by looking at the bottle he hadn't had much to drink so that didn't worry her. What got her attention was the fact he obviously hadn't done anything on the boat even though he had been down there for over three hours.

Kate went to the boat and crawled underneath to sit next to Jethro who was just lying there and not yet acknowledged her presence. She set the bottle aside and pulled his hand to her lips kissing his palm. That got Jethro to open his eyes and look at Kate. He slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her into a breath stealing kiss.

"Hey, beautiful, what are you doing down here?" He asked as he eased away from the kiss.

When Kate could catch her breath she said, "Looking for you. Jethro, honey, what are you doing just lying down here? Why haven't you come to bed, are you alright?" Kate continued to hold his hand and lightly stroke her fingers up and down his arm.

"I'm okay. I guess I just needed to have some time alone after all the crap we've been dealing with the past few weeks. I'm sorry if I worried you."

Kate scooted closer so she could lean down and kiss Jethro who then pulled her on top of himself and returned the favor. Kate sat back up and said, "What else is going on Jethro? You have been distant and such a bear the past several days. What is really bothering you?"

Jethro looked at Kate and knew he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself much longer. He was powerless to deny this woman anything. Whether it was the first sip of his coffee, the last of the ice cream or access to his thoughts, if she asked for it he gave it to her. Sometimes, like right now, it scared him to love her so much. It didn't matter though because he couldn't help himself; he was truly and forever lost in Kate Todd. And now Kate's right hand was under his shirt softly drawing designs on his chest while her left hand was still running up and down his arm. Her eyes were locked on his and Jethro was content to just lay there look at her. That was not going to last though and he knew it.

Jethro reached up to stroke Kate's face. His thumb smoothed over her lips and she turned into his palm to kiss him again. Jethro sat up and leaning against the boat frame he pulled Kate back to sit between his legs. Her back pressed against his chest, Jethro wrapped his arms around Kate and buried his face in her hair inhaling the scent he could never get enough of. Kate leaned back and he nuzzled her neck kissing her softly until she turned her head and said,

"You're trying to distract me, Jethro."

"How am I doing?" he replied as one hand slid under her shirt.

"Very well actually. We can continue on with this now and talk later or we could just get the talking out of the way and then continue this upstairs in a comfortable bed. Your choice." Kate tuned her head and smiled up at Jethro letting him know she really was fine with whatever he chose.

"Are there other options?" Jethro asked as he leaned down and captured her lips in a slow, deep kiss.

"Well let's see, I could go back to bed while you stay down here."

"Not an option," Jethro growled against her throat.

"I agree. Or we could both go upstairs, have our little talk and then get back to these very nice distractions you are currently employing."

"Better." Jethro got up and taking Kate by the hand led her up the stairs. When he headed in the direction of the bedroom, Kate steered him to the living room couch instead. She knew if they went up to the bedroom now talking would be the last thing they did.

They settled on the couch, Jethro on one end and Kate sitting sideways next to him. "Jethro, please tell me what's bothering you. I know the past few weeks have been really tough but I don't think that's it, is it?"

"No, that's not it, well not entirely anyway." Jethro reached for Kate's hand and let his head fall back against the back of the couch. Kate sat watching and waiting for him to continue. She had learned that Jethro often need a little more time than usual to organize his thoughts when they were talking about personal issues. Once she had learned to sit quietly and give him the time he needed, she was always rewarded with clear, honest answers.

Jethro sighed and said, "I know I've been a real bastard the last few days and I'm sorry about that. The truth is Katie, I've been worried about you."

That surprised Kate and she asked, "Why Jethro, I'm fine. Is there something about my work that has you concerned?"

"No, god no, Kate you're the best agent I have. It's just…..dammit Kate, sometimes I wish I'd never brought you to NCIS!" As he finished, Jethro stood up and started pacing around the room, never looking at Kate.

Kate was stunned by his statement but she knew there had to be some reasonable explanation. She knew Jethro loved her so she didn't take it personally but still, she was very confused.

"Okay, Jethro sit down here with me and tell me what in the world prompted that thought."

Jethro came back to the couch and sat down. He shifted around so he was facing Kate and took her hands in his. He kissed her softly and said, "Please don't interrupt. Just let me say it all, okay?"

"Okay."

"I wish sometimes I'd never brought you to NCIS because I hate that you see so much of the ugly, horrible side of life that we deal with all the time. I know you are tough minded but it bothers me that you see the mutilated bodies, that you hear the horror stories of the victims. I know that once you see those things, once you hear a child tell about being abused or molested you can never really get it out of your head. I know it's always there, maybe way back in the back of your mind but still it's always with you. Knowing there is evil and depravity in the world is one thing but bumping up against it week in and week out is something else entirely. It changes us, Kate. It makes us just a little harder, colder, less free somehow. I know because that is what has happened to me and I hate that it will happen to you. I don't know if that all makes sense to you or not. What it means to me is that the woman I love more than my own life is being exposed to things I wish you didn't have to see. My instinct is to shield you or save you somehow from all that and I can't. That's really hard for me to accept."

Jethro had been looking past Kate while he said all that and now he brought his focus back to her face. When he saw she had tears in her eyes he leaned in and kissed them away and wrapped her in his arms. Kate was surprised by what Jethro said because they had never talked about their work in those terms. Before she could answer him Kate needed a kiss, she needed to let Jethro know how much he had touched her with his concern for her. Kate pulled away from Jethro's embrace and barely brushed her lips all over his face before capturing his mouth with hers. The kiss was deep and full of all the love she felt for him at that moment. When she tried to pull back Jethro pulled Kate onto his lap and kissed her long and hard, his hands holding her tightly as if she might somehow slip away.

Eventually they had to breathe and Kate took the opportunity to collect her thoughts. She took Jethro's face in her hands and kissed him again. Before he could deepen the kiss, Kate leaned back resting her hands on his chest. Looking into the eyes she loved to get lost in Kate began,

"Thank you for telling me that Jethro. I love you for worrying about me and wanting to protect me. The fact is, you do shield me from all the pain and ugliness we experience; your love is my shield Jethro. When you look at me like you are now and I see the love and desire and acceptance in your eyes I forget about all the horrible things I've seen. When you touch me with so much tenderness and care I forget about the brutality of other people. When you whisper my name and tell me you love me I forget about all the hatefulness and cruelty we hear about. And when you make love to me Jethro, I forget it all. I only know how happy I am with you and how lucky I am to love you and be loved by you. I only see how beautiful and promising my life is with you. You can't take away what we deal with Jethro but having you in my life makes it possible for me to deal with it and not go insane. You don't have to worry about the bad things in the world getting to me as long as I have you."

Kate leaned in and kissed Jethro with as much love and passion as she ever had. Her hands went to his hair to pull him closer. Jethro returned her passion, his hands tangling in her hair and holding her tightly to himself. When they finally broke apart Kate softly ran her fingers over Jethro's mouth and said,

"So you see, every time you look at me with love in your eyes, or touch me or tell me you love me, you save me Jethro."


End file.
